British comedy is no longer funny Page 21

Quote: Tony Cowards @ February 27 2012, 10:50 AM GMT

So you're saying that money spent on advertising is, in effect "free money" and doesn't come from money that we, as consumers, pay to the companies advertising? I'm not sure that is true at all.

As for the claim that 65% of adverts are comedy based (another made up statistic?), well ifthat's the standard that would come from commercial TV companies (imagine the horror of a 25 minute long "Go Compare" or "Compare the Meerkat" TV show) then long live the BBC!

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Tony what was the other made up statistic? Please note I said comedy 'BASED' which basically means the use of humour to sell a product, this can be by using comedians like Ricky Gervais, Craig Murray etc or employing comedy writers but you are right 65% is just my opinion, I am sure it's probably higher. I also agree with long live the BBC but that doesn't mean to say that I agree with a license fee that purely funds one company, I personally feel it is unjust. I was under the impression that a forum such as this was open to discuss different views on things but maybe I am wrong there also?

The BBC doesn't only make sitcom and drama/soap.

Quote: Martin Caine @ February 27 2012, 11:48 AM GMT

I was under the impression that a forum such as this was open to discuss different views on things but maybe I am wrong there also?

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And what are we doing if we're not discussing it, Martin? Forums are open for discussion, but it doesn't mean a single other person has to agree with you.

Quote: Aaron @ February 27 2012, 12:34 PM GMT

And what are we doing if we're not discussing it, Martin? Forums are open for discussion, but it doesn't mean a single other person has to agree with you.

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I don't expect or even care if anyone agrees with me on my own personal opinions, having different views on things is what makes life interesting but some of the responses I have seen not only to mine but to others on the forum seem more inclined to be having a dig rather than an educated response.

It could just be down to my #Moanday feeling and self inflicted alcohol deprivation that I put myself through in February, I suppose

Did you choose February because it's the shortest month?

Quote: Martin Caine @ February 27 2012, 11:48 AM GMT

Tony what was the other made up statistic? Please note I said comedy 'BASED' which basically means the use of humour to sell a product, this can be by using comedians like Ricky Gervais, Craig Murray etc or employing comedy writers but you are right 65% is just my opinion, I am sure it's probably higher. I also agree with long live the BBC but that doesn't mean to say that I agree with a license fee that purely funds one company, I personally feel it is unjust. I was under the impression that a forum such as this was open to discuss different views on things but maybe I am wrong there also?

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Well I've yet to see the statistic that "Life's Too Short" cost the BBC £2.5M per episode corroborated.

Also I would suggest that most adverts, 74.32% (made up statistic based on my opinion), involve no humour or input from comedians what-so-ever, when was the last time you saw a humourous car advert, or perfume, or Sainsbury's, Tescos, Morrisons, etc, etc.

In fact if you asked me to name supposedly humourous TV adverts I would name the ones you mention with Craig Murray, the Chris Addison insurance ads and the hideous Go Compare and Compare the Meerkat ads.

Also, which advert, running on British TV featured Ricky Gervais? I must've missed that one.

Quote: zooo @ February 27 2012, 1:15 PM GMT

Did you choose February because it's the shortest month?

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Of course though I do have an extra day of deprivation this year

Tony, Ricky has done quite a few for British TV mainly to help disabled. As I already pointed out it was Ricky that stated the £2.5 mil on Twitter I have no reason to disbelieve him and I certainly didn't make it up and my 65% humour based figure probably comes from the fact that the majority of the time the adverts are better than the programmes that my wife endures me to glance at occasionally. Let's just agree we have different perceptions of television advertising as it really is far off topic and obviously not that interesting

Unlucky!

I tend to agree with Renegade Carpark - reading the BCG newsletter these days is just depressing. I don't want to live in a world where "Mrs Brown's Boys" is prime time comedy.

As well as playing it safe, all channels seem to be obsessed with ratings and going for the lowest common deonominator. It's only a matter of time before "Strictly Big Fat Gypsy Weddings". Understandable from ITV, but wasn't the BBC funded so that they didn't need to chase ratings and could develop quality shows?

Unfortunately they seem to have decided that the ratings of a programme are the primary arbiter of its quality.

Agreed. I've found by doing the London open mic circuit, is that comedy has seemingly become over-saturated. It's the same with TV comedy, it's all bland, repetitive, structured jokes. The greatest ever comic (in my opinion) was Andy Kaufman. He took humour to the base emotional level. He played on the spontaneity of an action (which is vital I find for a real laughter) without ever approaching a recognised joke. Basically it's the same joke time after time, with either subject matter/punchline/set up replaced. Even Family Guy, Big Bang Theory etc. etc. etc. falls into this formulaic repetition. I'll admit that a few break the mould but none I've personally found funny.

Why do I call David Mitchell "squirrel f**ker".
Because he f**ks squirrels.

Quote: Mark @ January 25 2012, 12:34 PM GMT

The Thick Of It is back later this year. Noel Fielding's Luxury Comedy is pretty cutting edge (visually, maybe not in terms of gags, but the ideas)... etc

Depends where you look. There's all sorts of interesting things on the radio if you look in the right places for example. And The Winner Is..., repeated Saturday, had a discussion about masturbating over fictional cartoons for example.

But, yes, there is a lot of bland in modern TV too. I'd suggest That Hidden Camera Family probably isn't going to be your thing.

It's always been this way though - we forget the bland shows from years gone by. Anyway, my favourite shows of all time are not cutting edge, outrageous or subversive.

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Armando Iannucci tries too hard to be clever and Noel Fielding gives me the creeps with his Goth tranny look. Comedy doesn't have to be offensive. Some of the old comedy is still hilarious but it's not edgy by any modern standard (and btw when did "edgy" stop meaning nervous ?). Things like the Phil Silvers show where a monkey gets drafted into the US Army are just so original and witty.

Quote: Safdar Shah @ March 2 2012, 3:30 AM GMT

Armando Iannucci tries too hard to be clever

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Good job that most of his stuff is really funny then, to take the edge off!

Just my tuppence on BBC budgets - because some pretty odd numbers have been bandied around on this thread. BBC pulls in about £4 billion a year last time I looked. Obviously that has to pay for more than programmes. I have no idea what the overall budget for comedy is.

I wonder about this £2.5 million for Life's Too Short. There's an outside chance a 7-episode series might just have cost that much, given the fact that it contains Hollywood movie stars. But BBC is very good at not paying out large sums to actors, despite what the headlines say. If the overall cost of the show was £2.5 million, that works out at about £357,000 an episode, which seems like quite a lot, especially given that sitcoms shot in studios in front of an audience are the most expensive and tend to be less that £300,000. But if the true figure really is £357k per show for this, I wouldn't be too surprised.

The other factor is that not all of that £2.5million would be licence fee. There may well have been a commercial partner like HBO or BBC Worldwide who know money can be made from the show in USA given Gervais' profile and celebrity friends. So don't get too cross.

But get cross about the fact that British comedy is in danger in this regard: that it often mistakes 'warm' or 'quirky' for 'funny'. There are lots of shows on TV that are watchable and well-plotted or well cast. But they don't actually make you laugh out loud sitting at home - and don't seem to be trying to either. Can't help feeling this is the main point of comedy.